Congressman who wrote SOPA is a copyright violator

Someone decided to determine if the stock photo images used on Congressman Lamar Smith (R - TX) were properly licensed or credited, and lo and behold,
the author of the SOPA act's official Web site (Texansforlamarsmith.com) is in violation of those
stock photo copyrights.

Jamie Lee Curtis Taete of vice.com writes:

I decided to check that everything on Lamar's official campaign website was copyright-cleared and on the level. Lamar is using several stock
images on his site, two of which I tracked back to the same photographic agency.

I contacted DJ [the photographer], to find out if Lamar had asked permission to use the image and he told me that he had no record of Lamar, or anyone
from his organization, requesting permission to use it: "I switched my images from traditional copyright protection to be protected under the
Creative Commons license a few years ago, which simply states that they can use my images as long as they attribute the image to me and do not use it
for commercial purposes.

"I do not see anywhere on the screen capture that you have provided that the image was attributed to the source (me). So my conclusion would be that
Lamar Smith's organization did improperly use my image. So according to the SOPA bill, should it pass, maybe I could petition the court to take
action against www.texansforlamarsmith.com."

Good job Lamar, you couldn't even create a simple campaign Web site without violating a couple photo copyrights, now imagine how difficult it would
be for a site of ATS's complexity to try and stay clear of SOPA.

Vice.com has also initiated a hunt for SOPA backers whose Web site's also contain copyright violations;

Or maybe we should send everyone a more aggressive message if you catch my drift...hang every motha bleep that opposes free speech. Go ahead and pass
sopa see if the isps aren't brought to their knee's begging.

The Above Top Secret Web site is a wholly owned social content community of The Above Network, LLC.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.